Lost Souls by Kelley Armstrong

So, the main story line of Lost Souls gets and A+ from me. The mystery is a good one, folding in possibly unknown lore with the Fae stuff. I like how it went, I like how it was resolved.

However, I honestly found Gabriel's treading or re-treading of his insecurities involving Olivia really quite tedious. I get that he didn't have a great childhood. I get that he didn't learn how to make friends. I get that Olivia is literally the first relationship of any kind he's had to forge by himself. Fantastic. I wanted him to tell her all of that as a way of explaining the awkwardness that tends to happen between them from his end. I know she knows about Gabriel's horrible childhood at this point, but I'm not sure she knows or even thinks about what that might have truly done to his social skills. Some sort of explanation from him would have done wonders, I think.

I don't particularly enjoy yelling at a book or rolling my eyes over the utter lack of communication going on between characters. Gabriel is a very insular character and it's ridiculously frustrating to "watch," even if the rest of the story is pretty good.

Favorite Line

"He's a matagot. He understands me just fine."

     "He's also a cat. Which means he doesn't care." - Patrick and Grace

Visions by Kelley Armstrong

Not sure whether this is relevant or not, but I did not previously review Visions. I reviewed Omens and Betrayals, but not Visions for some reason. I’m not sure what that reason is, as my first two reads were 10-ish years ago. However, thinking about how I feel about Visions now, I think maybe I didn’t have the language to talk about the characters. I’ll get into that more as I write this review.

First and foremost: everyone needs some therapy. Olivia, due to her parental situation and dead body encounters. Gabriel, because of his past, mostly. James, to get over this toxic bullshit he’s got going on. Just therapy all around, might be smart.

I like the Ciara Conway mystery for what it brings in terms of world-building. We know that Cainsville has some weird crap going on, apparently to do with Fae. That’s definitively confirmed here. That Cainsville has some sort of perception filter is honestly par for the course. I like that Olivia and Gabriel are pushing through it. That said, the preternatural stuff is rearing its head a lot more firmly in Visions. It’s still woven neatly with the “normal” stuff, which I think is a plus.

Given that I’ve only read the first three Cainsville novels and a smattering of short stories so far… I honestly did not remember what happened with James. It is safe to say that I actively hate him. I hate the way he’s decided he basically owns Olivia despite her saying very clearly, several times, that she doesn’t want him. Hate it. Hate him. He’s really giving me Riley from Buffy: The Vampire Slayer vibes. More milk-toast and excluded from the actual goings on than everyone else and resenting it. Well… resenting that Olivia is not “his.” Blech.

I actually quite like Ricky, so far. He’s so far done very little wrong. He’s a charming character. Apparently has ties to something Cainsville-related… which I don’t remember if that’s made more explicit in Omens or one of the short-stories, but yeah… don’t know much about it from a Visions perspective anyway. Ricky’s a pretty good character.

I love that we get to see Gabriel’s trauma hoard, even if Olivia has no idea… I won’t say anything more about that, though, as it is late enough in the book to be a spoiler. But Gabriel does loosen up some more here, which is good.

Visions is largely about Olivia discovering and figuring out exactly what’s up with Cainsville and breaking more firmly into her own life away from the life she had at the beginning of the series. I enjoyed the ride and — despite rereading my Betrayals review — looking forward to the next one. I’m genuinely interested in learning more about the Fae in this “realm” and hope there’s more of that to come. 

*Amendment: I completely forgot Deceptions existed while writing this review. I also haven't reviewed it.

Favorite Line

     "I don't think angels are supposed to grant wishes."

     "They should. It would make them much more interesting." - Olivia Taylor-Jones & Rose Walsh

Omens by Kelley Armstrong

2024 Reread Review

Going to start this out by saying: I really do love Omens. I think it’s very well paced, the story is well put together, and the characters are engaging. I flew through it the first time I read it. Definitely a fantastic start to a new series.

The herding of Olivia to Cainsville honestly gives me horror story vibes. Of course, most of the chapters that aren’t from Olivia’s POV have overt weird vibes. I quite like it. Little reminders that Olivia’s story is being at least partially observed and manipulated by Cainsville residents. Keeps more tension going that way.

I love Rose. She’s no-nonsense, for a fortune teller. She’s practical and caring, in her own way. She kind of gives me a “Golden Girls” vibe, though I think she’s younger than that crew.

I really, really like that Olivia and Gabriel’s relationship is kept platonic. It’s so nice to not have much relationship drama thrown into this. There’s definitely enough of that with James and, to be honest, I don’t think this story needs it.

The weaving in of Cainsville’s supernatural underside is well done and intriguing. It’s very clear, assuming you’re up on your Fae lore, that this leans more than direction than the “traditional” witchy or vampiric direction. I like it, largely.

I feel like the MKULTRA stuff came out of nowhere. It was done fairly well, I think, but on this third read-through, feels forced. That may also be because, just due to the timing of my reading, I sat and stewed in those chapters for a few days… but yeah. I mean, it’s apparently connected to something down the line (which I don’t remember, but which is hinted at in the text), so, set up.

But yeah, if you’re a fan of mystery and the supernatural, I definitely recommend giving Omens a read.

2016 Review

Favorite Lines

"Of course. That's the problem with most theories of prognostication. They presume a single future. You will marry a handsome, rich man and have two children.  Is life so predetermined from birth to death, like a car on a fixed track, no room for detours, no allowance for free will? There are futures, Olivia. Possible outcomes based on choices." - Rose Walsh

"Don't be dull, Olivia. There is no graver sin." - Rose Walsh

"Demon possession strains the boundaries of credibility, given the sheer number of times it seems to happen. One would really hope demons had better things to do with their time." - Rose Walsh

"Rain on a sunny day. That's good luck." - Omen-sense

"Yes, I'm a whole lot braver when they can't hear me," - Olivia Taylor-Jones

The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

A Spoiler-y Review

I'm just gonna get this out of the way right off the top as this movie was at least partially written by Joss Whedon. He has a brilliant creative mind but is a trash human. I've been a fan of his work since watching Angel and then Buffy, Serenity and then Firefly, then Dollhouse, The Avengers, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (which yes, he only worked on the first bit of, but still). However, unless I can get it for free, I won't be consuming anything else he manages to make if he ever manages to recover from the most recent, uhm, drama or whatever. I saw The Cabin in the Woods pretty soon after it came out in 2011, purchased the Blu-Ray, and now watch it every year as my Halloween movie. Whedon was the main reason I even watching The Cabin in the Woods in the first place, but I can mostly manage to separate this piece of art from the creator at this point, so... yeah. Let's all acknowledge this and move on.

I have never really been a fan of horror movies. Gimme vampires and werewolves and witches, sure, but straight up horror flicks... nope. Do not want or like. I do not need to be creeped out in my own home, thanks. That said, The Cabin in the Woods is definitely a horror movie and I absolutely love it.

In addition to the horror elements, the story-line also kind of commentates on and kind of flips the traditional narrative. I also like that it undercuts the horror with some comedy bits and gives the horror additional meaning. I mean, horror basically existing in that universe as a ritual sacrifice to the Ancients/Old Gods is definitely meaningful.

So, the A Plot of The Cabin in the Woods follows the traditional horror movie cast, who, it turns out, are not actually as traditional as it seems at first glance. They do all the horror movie things of going out into the middle of nowhere, start chilling at their vacation home, and, of course, essentially choosing how they die. They then have to deal with the consequences of that choice, which is where the murder and mayhem start to happen.

The B Plot of The Cabin in the Woods follows the facilitators of our horror movie. The people who have set up the entire scheme from beginning to end... which usually works, of course. They've got their ways of making sure the sacrifice goes off without a hitch and ways of blowing off steam afterward. We don't get exact specifics on everything they do, but we do get enough to understand the hows and whys and infer the rest.

I honestly think the real fun begins when the two plots merge. The remaining pair from the A Plot manage to find their way down into the control center's office building and basically set it on fire. Like, yes, it is the climax of the movie, but I just think it's more interesting than either plot on its own. There are so many references to so many movies and just pop-culture horror things that it's fun to watch. And, ya know, chaotic wholesale murder of a whole building full of people who are basically murdering college students every year is kind of cathartic. I haven't gone so far as to pause during the elevator scene to see how many monsters I recognize, but I do definitely try to look in a different part of the screen each year, see if I see something new.

I won't give away the very ending, for those who haven't seen it, but it is probably my favorite ending to a horror movie I've seen. I think The Cabin in the Woods does horror movie commentary a lot better than something like Scary Movie, to be honest. I haven't seen Scary Movie in years, but I don't remember liking it very much... but again, not a big horror movie fan. I might appreciate it more now, but I also don't feel the need to seek it out so... yeah.

If you need more than that to draw you in... Chris Hemsworth is in it. Basically pre-Thor. And Amy Acker, who is fantastic, as she always is. Richard Jenkins, who apparently was in Dhamer recently, and Bradley Whitford, most recently in The Handmaid's Tale. Seriously awesome actors in this thing. Looked like they had fun doing it, too, which is a plus.

I highly recommend giving The Cabin in the Woods a watch, if you haven't already.